I Miss You, I Need You, I Love You
by fearful dreaming
Summary: Ezra made a big mistake and will do anything to get her back. But with 'A' in the way as well as there many problems, nothing is made easy.  Loosely based around the show Pretty Little Liars, focusing on the couple Ezria!   *Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is my first story on this site based around the awesome couple EZRIA! Enjoy! :)**

Aria gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white. Tears stung in the back of her eyes, threatening to escape, but she resisted them. She didn't even know where she was going- she couldn't go home, she didn't want to deal with anyone right now, or their questions.

After driving for a little longer, she pulled into a narrow side street and stopped her car. Setting her head on her hand, and her elbow against the door, she took a deep breath, still trying to hold back the large amount of water welling up in her eyes. But she couldn't. It all came out, right there and then. Tears flooded from her eyes as her head collapsed into her hands, the occasional sobbing noise escaping her lips.  
>She remembered back to what had happened a mere thirty minutes beforehand.<p>

"_Ezra, just tell me the truth!" Aria shouted at her boyfriend.  
><em>"_I am, Aria!" He returned.  
><em>_"Ezra, please. Did you kiss Jackie?" Aria calmed slightly, moving closer to Ezra.  
><em>_He sighed, evidentially he had cracked. "Look, she kissed me, okay?" He explained, "it meant _nothing_."  
><em>_"But you kissed back, didn't you?" Aria asked, her voice barely above a whisper.  
><em>_Ezra looked at the floor before looking back to Aria, confirming her accusation as correct.  
><em>"_Well then." She took a deep breath, picked up her coat and headed swiftly for the door, swinging it open and walking straight out, not bothering to close it behind her, not bothering to turn around, because she knew if she did, she would just end up crying, and she would _not_ cry in front of him.  
><em>"_Aria, wait!" She could here him shouting after her but she just kept moving, leaving Ezra's building and getting into her car._

And now she was here. In god knows what street crying her eyes out. Aria never cried like this. A few tears now and then, yes, but never like this. And especially not over a guy. But she loved Ezra, with all of her being, and they had been though so much together she couldn't help but feel… _betrayed_ that he would throw that away, especially on Jackie.

Aria couldn't help but feel insecure when she saw Jackie with Ezra. She was smart, beautiful, tall, and of course, the same age, something that Aria could never give Ezra.

Her phone buzzed indicating that she had received a new message, interrupting her from her thoughts. Before she even lifted her phone, she knew who it would be from. Lifting the phone from the chair next to her, she opened the text from the blocked number.

'_Good job Aria, letting him go was the best thing for him. Now Jackie can have him all to herself, kisses –A_'

Aria threw her phone into the backseat, and started her car again. She backed out of the street she was now on and set off on a journey that would take her God knows where. She just wanted to be _anywhere_ but here.

**I know it's short, but I just wanted to start it off and see what you guys think. I'll update soon, promise!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am SO sorry for not updating sooner. School has be **_**crazy**_** already. But here's chapter 2 so I hope you like :)**

Numerous miles and many ignored phone calls later, Aria finally headed on route home after realising she had left her purse there, and she was running low on gas. After taking as many detours as possible along the way, Aria eventually arrived home, slamming the front door behind her, ignoring the constant string of questions her parents were now shouting behind her about where she had been, and why she was home so late. Sharply closing her bedroom door upon entering it, she fell onto her bed, tears streaming down her face. The red digits on the alarm clock by her bed caught her eye, '1:43am'. Had she really been out that late? Somewhere on her dazed journey, she had lost track of time and had been driving around for five hours.

Her phone beeped in her back pocket and she reached down to retrieve it. Looking at the screen, she was shocked to find 17 missed calls, and 24 unread messages, the majority from Ezra, and the rest from her parents. She deleted them all and lay back in her bed, curling up under the sheets.

Somehow, through the tears and painful memories running through her mind, Aria managed to find soothing in rest, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Aria winced as she opened her eyes to the morning sunlight drifting through her partially open curtains. Memories and realisation of the night before hit her after her relaxing sleep, instantly spoiling what had been a somewhat happy mood.

Pushing the covers from on top of her body, Aria swung her legs over the edge of the bed and lifted her cell phone from the ground, where it had fallen at some point during the night. Aria ran a hand through her hair, reading the ten unread messages from Ezra, All something similar to 'Hey we need to talk.' 'Aria, please come over.' 'We can fix this.'

Aria closed her eyes tightly and inhaled deeply. Maybe she had over reacted. Ezra didn't act that way when he found out she had kissed Jason, so why was this getting to her so bad? Was it because she felt so insecure next to Jackie? Was it the fact the Ezra had nearly _married_ this women? Either way, Aria, being the stubborn girl that she was, refused to apologise until Ezra did first. It took every inch of her control to not dial his number and apologise for getting so mad, or go to his apartment and just throw her arms around him. No matter how much she wanted to, she wouldn't do that, because that would be a sign that she had given up.

Later that day, Aria sat in her room, lonely. Her parents and younger brother had all been gone when she woke up, and since it was Saturday, and she would normally spend all day with Ezra, Aria decided to stay in bed for as long as she could. At around four in the afternoon, Aria heard her mother, Ella, entering the house, and calling her name. "I'm up here, mom!" Aria shouted from her bedroom, but instantly regretting it when she heard her mother's footsteps ascending the stairs. Why hadn't she just pretended to be asleep?

Her bedroom door inched open before her mother entered the room, shutting it behind her. "How are you?" Her mother asked.  
>"I'm fine." Aria lied.<br>"So, are you going to tell me what happened last night?" Ella questioned.  
>"Nothing happened." Aria said, forcing a half smile, but she was sure her mother could see right through it.<p>

"Really? Because you looked kind of upset when you finally arrived home at two in the morning." Her mother said, knowingly.  
>"Mom, I'm fine, honestly. Nothing happened. I wasn't upset."<br>"Then why did you arrive home so late?"  
>"Does it really matter?" Aria asked, her tone a little more defensive than planned.<br>Her mother stood from where she had taken a seat on the bed next to Aria. "I guess it doesn't. I'm sorry for caring." Ella said, seeming hurt.  
>"Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't mean.." Aria trailed off before continuing by answering her mother's previous question, " I was at Spencer's. We fell asleep watching a movie."<br>"Okay." Ella said, before walking towards the door. She turned around to look at Aria. "But I'm here to talk, any time you need to." She said, before turning and exiting the room.

Aria knew that Ella had seen right through her lie, but there was part of her hoping that she believed her. Yes, her friends knowing about her secret relationship with her ex-English teacher was a good thing so she could have alibis, but when they weren't planned, it would just take one tiny slip-up and Aria would be in deep, dragging Ezra with her.

Deciding that she had had enough of _Friends_ re-runs, Aria got dressed, and texted her three best friends to meet her at the local coffee shop and thirty minutes later, Aria was sitting at a table in the far corner with a coffee in her hands, waiting for her friends to arrive. The first to arrive was Emily Fields, followed by Hanna Marin not long after and finally Spencer Hastings. A mere five minutes after all four girls were seated and had received their coffee order, the one person Aria had been trying to avoid for the past twenty-four hours walked into the nearly desolate coffee joint. Aria wouldn't have even realised if it wasn't for Spencer who had just so happened to look up at the same time Ezra entered.  
>"Look who it is, hot secret boyfriend at three o'clock." She said, smirking and nudging Aria, but not receiving the reaction she had planned on. Instead of Aria laughing and playfully shoving her best friend, she sat quietly staring at her coffee while the others turned to look and laughed at Spencer's comment.<br>"Wow, how sucked the happiness for you?" Hanna asked Aria, resulting in Spencer kicking her under the table and giving her a stern look, obviously realising something serious had gone down between Aria and Ezra.  
>"Do you need to talk about it?" asked Emily.<br>"There's nothing to talk about." Aria mumbled, and hesitantly glanced up at Ezra at the exact same time he had turned his gaze to her. Within the brief five seconds that the couples gazes locked on each other, both felt many different feelings swell up inside of them- hurt, regret, but mostly, _love._

Aria returned her focus back to her coffee, taking a deep breath.  
>"Aria?" Hanna asked, concern etched on her face.<br>"I'll… see you guys Monday." Aria stated, standing up and lifting her purse and jacket from the back of her chair. She then lifted her coffee cup and walked straight out the door, feeling the gaze of her three friends and most importantly, Ezra, trailing behind her, but using all of her restraint to not turn back, and run into his arms.

**Again, I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. I've had soooo much homework etc etc and I just couldn't find the time to right. This is 1000+ words though, so I hope that makes up for it. Please, please, let me know what you think, what you like, what you don't like. Love y'all. xx**


	3. Chapter 3

_The static waves across the screen,__  
><em>_define this notion.__  
><em>_Back and forth and in between,__  
><em>_like my emotion.__  
><em>_And I know you're never gonna understand.  
><em>**Static waves- Andrew Belle ft Katie Herzig.**

Aria arrived home just after six in the evening, only to be greeted by her mother.  
>"Hello, Aria." Her mother said, cheerfully.<br>"Hey, mom." Aria smiled.  
>"Oh, these came for you." Ella smirked at her daughter and handed her a gold box with a red ribbon tied around it.<p>

"Thanks." Aria smiled, taking the box from her mom's grasp.  
>"Are you joining us for dinner?" Ella asked Aria.<br>"No thanks, I, already ate." Aria lied, yet again. She wasn't really hungry and honestly, as mean as it sounds, she wasn't in the mood to sit at a dinner table with the rest of her family.  
>"Okay, well, if you change your mind, let me know." Ella smiled.<br>"I will." Aria replied before disappearing up the stairs and into her bedroom.

As soon as she had closed the door of her bedroom, she dropped her purse and began to untie the ribbon around the rectangular gold box her mother has previously given her. Upon opening, she found one single red rose. She lifted the card that came with it, and read.

'Aria, we need to talk. I don't want to loose you over this. –Ezra.'

Aria thought for a few moments about the possibilities and the consequences for the few options she had. She really didn't want to lose Ezra either, she loved him way to much to let him go, but she couldn't stand any more hurt in her life right now. Then again, Ezra was her safe place to land, just being with him, having her hand in his, feeling his tight embrace around her- it made her feel _safe_. And that's what she needed, right? Someone to make her feel safe. After mentally debating with herself for a few more minutes, Aria bit her lip and lifted her phone out from the pocket of her jeans. She typed out one simple word, that could potentially alter both lovers lives, or make things right again.

'Tomorrow.' 

The next day, Aria stood outside apartment 3B at three in the afternoon, as Ezra had texted her previously in the morning. She reached out a slightly shaking hand and knocked the door. Normally, she would just use the spare key but considering the circumstances, she thought it would be best to not just barge into his apartment.  
>She waited nervously until a few seconds later, Ezra appeared at the door.<br>"Hi." Aria said, nervously.  
>"Come in." Ezra gestured as he moved to the side, allowing Aria to enter. "Thank you for coming." He said, while shutting the door.<br>"Yeah, no problem.." Aria said awkwardly.  
>"Have a seat." Ezra offered but Aria shook her head.<br>"I think I'd rather do this standing up." She stated.  
>"Okay.." Ezra started, "Look, Aria, I need you to believe me when I say that the kiss meant <em>nothing <em>to me. I felt _nothing_ when it happened Aria, and do you know why? It's because I am in love with you. Not Jackie. _You_. "  
>"Ezra, I-" Aria started but was cut of by the beeping of her phone, indicating that she had a new message. "Just a second." She said, an apologetic look on her face, lifting her phone from her purse. She hesitated seeing that the message was from an Unknown number, of course, she already new who it was without actually having to open it, but she read it anyway.<p>

_'Think that everything's going to be okay from here? Better be careful, Aria. Hollis is a big campus with lots of hiding places –A.'  
><em>**'File attachment'**

Aria let her thumb trail over the screen, trying to mentally prepare for what was to come, before clicking the file attachment. As her screen loaded, she became fully aware now of what was going on. Someone had taken a picture through the door of Ezra's Hollis Office and it was of none other that Ezra Fitz himself, lying on the couch, but he wasn't alone. His arms were wrapped around the easily distinguishable Jackie Molina, who was lying on top of him, the two involved in what seemed to be a very heated make out session.

Aria was speechless, her eyes threatening to spill her tears at any moment.  
>"Aria?" Ezra asked, worry etched over her normally calm features.<br>"How.. how could you?" Aria asked, confusing Ezra even more than he already was.  
>"I'm not sure what you mean." Ezra stated.<br>"Someone told me you had _kissed_ her, but I had no idea, _this_ is what you were getting up to!" Aria cried, shoving the phone at his face.  
>Ezra looked at the phone, and Aria could see the realisation click as he realised just what he was looking at.<br>"Aria, I-"  
>"Forget it, Ezra. Just forget everything." Aria said, quieter now.<br>"What are you saying?" Ezra questioned.  
>Aria took a deep breath. "I'm saying we're over."<br>And with that, she walked out the door, back through Ezra's apartment building, straight to the parking lot, without one glance back.

After arriving home, Aria went straight to her room, and once the door was closed, she let her tears fall freely as she feel to the ground, bringing her knees up to her chest. She had gone with the intent to try to _fix_ things, not make them worse. But of course, 'A' just _had_ to get in the way of her life again. She missed Ezra, she _loved_ him, more than anything, and not having him with her, wrapping her in his strong embrace, telling her that everything was going to be okay… it just hurt even more. She'd ended it. That was it, it was over, and all she was left with, was a hollow feeling deep inside her chest, and the feeling that her heart had just been torn into pieces.

After ten or so minutes of sitting curled up on the ground crying, Aria feeling found the strength to lift herself and walked over to her bed, taking her phone out in the process. Sitting down, she started typing and sent the message to her three best friends, Hanna, Emily and Spencer.

_'S.O.S. In need of a girl's night.'_

Within approximately seven minutes of her sending the text, her three friends arrived at her front door holding Chinese takeout, fashion magazines and rental DVD's. Aria smiled at the sight of them standing in the doorway, giving her a sympathetic look. They all knew as soon as she opened the door that it was something to do with Ezra. Her smudged make-up and tear-stained face couldn't argue otherwise.  
>"Thanks for coming guys." Aria half smiled, once they were all sitting in her bedroom.<br>"No problem." Emily said, "You need us, we come."  
>"Exactly." She Spencer, "You know that we're always here for you."<br>"Yeah. Tonight is girl's night and tomorrow is kick Fitz's ass night." Hanna smiled.  
>Aria gave a short laugh at her friends attempt at humour.<p>

After hours of gossiping, flipping through magazines and watching some movies with the girls, Aria's mind had eventually drifted of Ezra, and she was now focused on having fun with her three closest friends. That was, until, her phone beeped loudly next to her. Through all the talking and laughing, Aria hadn't realised that her phone had gone off numerous times beforehand, and she now had nine unread messages, each from Ezra.  
>Aria deleted them all, and threw her phone down on the bed beside her with more force that planned, causing it to bounce slightly, and fall to the floor. Aria took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again to find her friends staring at her with the same sympathetic look as earlier.<p>

"Do you want to talk about it yet?" Spencer asked.  
>"There's nothing to say, it's over between us, that's it." Aria choked, trying her best to keep the tears from falling again.<br>"Aria, some serious shit went down between you two, we can tell now spill." Hanna demanded.  
>"I guarantee you'll feel better after you tell someone about what happened and there aren't exactly many people you can talk to about this." Emily added.<br>Aria gave in. "He kissed Jackie."  
>"What?" The three friends said simultaneously, their jaws dropping.<br>"He kissed Jackie? As in Jackie Molina?" Spencer asked, gobsmacked.  
>"As in ex-fiancée Jackie Molina?" Hanna added.<br>"Well, she kissed him, but, he didn't do anything to stop it." Aria whispered. "I mean, I thought I'd over reacted," She continued, louder now, "Like, he didn't act that way with Jason, so why should I be so hard on him and he kept pestering me to talk to him, so I agreed, but then, I found out that he hadn't only kissed her, but he'd _made-out_ with her… in his office!" Aria practically shouted.  
>"Sssh, you're mom's downstairs." Spencer hissed.<br>Aria shook her head, "She went out."  
>"How did you find out about this, did he tell you?" Emily asked.<br>"No…" Aria looked down, "'A' did."

**So last night, I was thinking of putting up another chapter, and someone actually asked me too so I started writing this one, but then it got really late and I am not good with typing when it's late, haha. But I hope you like this one. Review if you want, and I'm always up for some constructive critism if you have any. I want to make my writing better of course. Anyways, I'm sort of rabbling now, but I hope to have another chapter up later or tomorrow. xx- tori :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**This took a little longer to write than I planned but enjoy :]**

_Everything will change,  
>Nothing stays the same.<br>Nobody is perfect,  
>Oh, but everyone is to blame.<em>

**In My Veins- Andrew Belle**

"A told you?" Emily exclaimed.  
>"But, did you just believe them? I mean, they've told a lot of lies before." Spencer reasoned.<p>

"A sent me a freaking picture. And then when I went crazy at Ezra, he pretty much admitted it. But while I was forgiving Ezra, I got this!" Aria exclaimed, retrieving her phone and showing her friends the picture she had previously received.  
>"Oh…" Emily trailed off.<br>"I'm so sorry, Aria." Hanna said and pulled her friends into a hug.  
>"Thanks, Han." Aria said, pulling away from the hug.<br>"Did you let him say anything about it? I mean, maybe there's a reason, an explanation as to wh-" Spencer began but Aria cut her off mid-sentence.  
>"What is there to explain, Spence? I don't even know how long this has been going on for! It's classed as <em>cheating<em> guys!"  
>"Well maybe you should give him a call." Emily said, handing Aria's phone to her.<br>"Yeah, before we go kick his ass." Hanna added, resulting in laughter from all four girls.  
>"Do you really think I should?" Aria asked hesitantly, after they had calmed down.<br>"Yes." The three girls confirmed in unison.  
>Aria looked at her phone and back at her friends who all had the same look on their faces and Aria knew that they all wanted her to call Ezra, and let him explain what had happened.<br>"Okay, fine. I'll call him." Aria said, and the other three girls smiled with success, still sitting on Aria's bed. Aria looked at them, still sitting there, smiling widely.  
>"Privately." Aria said and her friends finally got the message. They stood up and each gave Aria a small supportive smile, before leaving her bedroom and closing the door behind them.<br>Aria looked down at her cell phone, and scrolled through her contacts until she reached "E". Inhaling a deep breath, she paused for a second, before hitting the call button and putting the phone to her ear.

"Aria." Ezra breathed, after picking up the phone after two short rings, relief that Aria was talking to him evident in his voice.  
>"Hi." Aria said, with no emotion in her voice.<br>"Aria, I knew what this must look like, but _please_ I just need you to listen to me when I say I never wanted any of this to happen." Ezra said.  
>Aria closed her eyes momentarily before sighing. "I'm listening." She confirmed.<br>"Aria, I was just sitting on the couch in my office grading papers, and then she walked in, without knocking or anything, in fact, I didn't even realise she was there until I heard the door close behind her. I told her I was busy but she didn't listen, she took the paper I was reading out of my hand and then sort of, starting doing what you saw in the photo. As soon as I realised what was going on, I pushed her off me and I told her I had a girlfriend. She said she knew and that, if I did anything else to annoy her..." Ezra trailed off for a moment before continuing, "she threatened to tell."  
>"Ezra…" Aria didn't know what to say. She really had to stop blowing up before she had all the answers.<br>"You don't have to say anything Aria. All you have to say is that you believe me." Ezra said gently.  
>"Ezra, of course I believe you. And, I'm so sorry for letting you explain or listening to you in the first place and I-"<br>"Aria." Ezra cut her off. "I love you, okay? I just want you to know that I would _never_ do anything to hurt you on purpose. I know, I should have told you when it happened, but I was worried that you would hate me forever."  
>"Ezra, I could never hate you." She said, and the both of them reminisced back to that night over a year ago at homecoming, we Ezra had said the same thing to Aria.<br>"Why don't you come over?" Ezra asked.  
>"Sure, I'd like that." Aria smiled and they both said their goodbyes before hanging up the phone.<p>

Aria smiled, happy now that she knew exactly what had gone down. Of course, she believed Ezra. They loved each other, and they wouldn't lie to each other like that.  
>Aria stood up of her bed and walked over to the other side of the room, opening the door ready to call the other girls back up. However, when Aria opened the door of her bedroom, the three girls came tumbling in and fell to the floor.<br>"Enjoy the show?" Aria asked sarcastically, knowing that they were eavesdropping on her half of the conversation.  
>"So?" Hanna asked with a huge smile on her face.<br>"I'm heading to Ezra's now." Aria said, unable to hide her happiness that she and Ezra were okay again.  
>"We'll be on our way then." Said Spencer and the three girls collected their things and left.<p>

No more that forty minutes later, Aria had fixed her make-up and changed her clothes and was now on her way up the stairs to Ezra's apartment. Knocking lightly on apartment 3B, she waited until Ezra opened the door to her about five seconds later. The two just stared into each others eyes for god knows how long before Ezra took Aria in his grasp and kissed her lightly, then pulled her into a tight embrace.  
>"I'm so sorry." He whispered in her ear and she looked up at him, smiling.<br>"I forgive you." Aria confirmed. "Now, how about we put this behind us, and go back to how we were _before_ it?"  
>"I would really like that." Ezra smiled and lead her inside his apartment, closing the door behind them.<p>

After watching numerous old movies, and laughing together between loving kisses, everything seemed to be back as it should be, and Aria fell into a relaxing sleep in Ezra's strong arms, feeling peaceful and most importantly, safe.

**This is probably the worst chapter I have ever written. It sucks and it's short and I'm sorry. But I had to put something up, and I just **_**had **_**to get them back together, I couldn't stand keeping them apart any longer.**

**I hope to have some drama soon! :]**

**Also, I'd just like to say thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who has reviewed this story and added it to their alerts/favourites. It means the absolute world to me that people enjoy my writing because I get really weird about it and yeah. Basically, you are the only people I share it with- only one person in my real life knows that I write so, now I'm babbling but yeah, reviews?**

**Oh, and if Aria's parents were to find out, how should they react? ;)**

**Much love –Tori xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five. Enjoy! :)**

_A drop in the ocean,  
>a change in the weather.<br>I was praying that you an I might end up together.__  
><em>**A Drop In The Ocean- Ron Pope.**

Aria's eyes fluttered open and she stretched her arms above her head, yawning. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she realised she wasn't in her own bedroom, but rather the bedroom of Ezra Fitz's apartment. She very quickly looked down and sighed with relief as she realised she was still fully clothed.  
>"You're awake." She heard an unmistakable voice behind her.<br>"I am." She said, turning around to be met by the gaze of Ezra.  
>"Why didn't you wake me last night, my parents will be wondering where I am." Aria stated, a hint of worry in her voice.<br>"Don't worry about it. Spencer called your cell phone, and I hope you don't mind, but I answered it. She said that she'd tell your parents you fell asleep at her house." Ezra explained.  
>"Thank you." Aria said.<br>"Actually, there's also, something else I found." Ezra said, and Aria stared at him blankly.  
>"What do you mean?" Aria asked.<br>"Well, I wasn't looking for anything, but when I hung up the phone with Spencer, a message popped up…" Ezra trailed off.  
>A message, her cell phone, it was all piecing together in her mind. No, it wasn't, it couldn't have been. Could Ezra know?<br>"Aria, I looked in your inbox after I found it, because, well, I was worried." Ezra continued.  
>Oh shit, Aria thought. He most definitely had found out.<br>"And then I remembered back to that night not long after we started dating and I found that text on your phone when you left it here." Ezra was still rambling before he finally got to his point.  
>"Aria, who's 'A'"? Ezra asked, concern etched over her features.<br>Aria looked down at the ground. There was a reason she hadn't told him, that reason being that 'A' seemed to know everything about each of the four girls lives, and the people who got even close to finding out, got hurt in some way. Ezra noticed her silence and began to worry even more.  
>"Aria. It all makes sense now. Nearly every time your phone rings, I can see it in your eyes. You're scared aren't you? You're scared of this person."<br>Aria kept looking at the ground. She'd never _really_ admitted it before, but she was most definitely scared of 'A'. She could feel tears pinching at her eyes and refused to look up at Ezra.  
>"Aria, please. I'm not going to force anything out of you, but I just need to know that, you're okay."<br>Aria finally looked up and she could see the worry clearly evident on his face.  
>"I'm not scared, Ezra." Aria said, trying to stay strong. She took a deep breath, trying to stifle back her sobs, "I'm.. <em>terrified<em>." She told him, tears finally falling freely from her eyes.  
>"Aria." Ezra said, walking quickly forwards and pulling Aria into his strong embrace. Aria let her tears fall down her face, staining Ezra's shirt, but he didn't care. All he cared about was her. After standing in the middle of his bedroom for fifteen minutes with Aria crying into Ezra's chest, and Ezra simply stroking her hair, and kissing her temple every so often, he lead Aria to the couch in his living room and laid her against him. After a few more moments, she finally looked up at him, her eyes red. Ezra could she the fear in her eyes and he simply held her tighter and kissed her temple again. "It's okay. You're safe with me." Ezra assured her, and while she was sitting there, wrapped in his embrace, Aria did in fact, feel safe.<p>

The couple sat like that for numerous hours, in silence, the only sound was the occasional sob or sniffle escaping the now sleeping Aria. Ezra looked down at her, still stroking her hair, and holding her close to him. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen some sort of sign or asked her sooner about what was going on. Hell, he didn't even know how long it had been going on for, or what it was even about. All he knew, was the fact that it had been going on right under his nose, and he hadn't bothered to look into it, and for that, he felt guilty.

Suddenly, Aria's phone started ringing; jarring her out of what had become a relaxing sleep. She immediately looked up at Ezra, and he realised that she didn't want to answer it. Instead, Ezra picked it up from the coffee table in front of them and looked at the caller ID for her.  
>"It's okay." He smiled, "It's just Spencer."<br>Ezra handed the phone to Aria, who sat up straight and answered it. "Hey Spence."  
>Ezra stood, and gave Aria a quick kiss on the forehead, before turning and heading towards his bedroom so Aria could have some privacy. She gave him an appreciative smile as he turned back before he closed the door.<br>"So, how was the night with Fitz?" Spencer asked, and Aria could hear her smirking.  
>"It was great." Aria smiled, but then bit her lip, "Until this morning." She concluded.<br>"Why what happened?" Spencer's tone completely changed to one of both sympathy and worry, "did you guys get In another fight?"  
>"No, but…" Aria trailed off, running a hand through her hair, "Spence, she found out about 'A' while I was sleeping." Aria continued on with the short story about how Ezra had found out about the person anonymously harassing her. She could hear Spencer go silent, before she gave a slight gasp, remembering that she needed to breathe, "oh…" was all she could manage to say.<br>"Spencer, I don't know what to do. I've just been crying and sleeping all day, I mean, can I tell him? _Should_ I tell him?"  
>"Well, he knows this much, he may as well know the rest." Spencer reasoned, and Aria decided what to do.<br>"And you're sure it's okay if I do? I mean, we've kept this to our selves for so long, and when things happen that 'A' doesn't like, people get hurt. Gosh, Spence, I don't know what to do." Aria sighed.  
>"If you trust him, then so do we." Spencer confirmed.<br>"Thanks, Spence. I'll see you at school tomorrow?"  
>"Sure, good luck!" Spencer said, before the two girls said goodbye and hung up there phones.<br>Aria lingered in Ezra's living room for a few more moments before running a hand through her hair, and taking a deep breath. She walked across the room, and into the bedroom. Ezra looked up from the stack of papers he was marking and smiled at Aria before clearing all the papers away and patted the space on the bed next to him. Aria smiled appreciatively and walked towards the bed. She loved the fact that Ezra always gave her the space and privacy she needed, he always knew when to leave her, and he always knew when to stay and most importantly, he knew when she just wanted to be held and feel safe.

Aria lay next to him and he put an arm around her, pulling her closer to him. The two simply looked at each other, and Aria confirmed her decision with herself, it was time to tell him. She took a deep breath, and Ezra moved the piece of hair that had fallen over her face to behind her ear. Aria looked down for a few minute, and then shifted her gaze back into Ezra's eyes, unsure how to start, so see picked the easiest thing that would let Ezra know what she was talking about. "We don't know who 'A' is. He or she, or it, has been tormenting Spencer, Hanna, Emily and I for about a year now and at first we thought it was just some joke or game, and then we realised it was completely serious. Whoever it is, knows all our secrets and uses them against us all the time." Aria explained. She went on to tell him about some of the things 'A' had done to them, like telling her mother about her father's affair, framing Spencer for Alison's murder, killing Ian, running over Hanna with a car, planting Human Growth Hormone in Emily's pain cream, and most importantly, trying to frame them _all_ for murder. Aria finally finished the whole story about an hour later, and Ezra had simply listened the whole time. He finally spoke after she had finished, and looked worriedly at him. "Why didn't you tell me?" Ezra asked, his voice gentle.  
>"Because the last person we told went missing, Ezra." Aria teared up, "I didn't want you to get hurt." A single tear fell from her eye, and Ezra wiped it away with his thumb before pulling Aria closer and kissing her forehead. Aria nestled into his chest and he continued stroking her hair.<br>"Nothing will happen to me, Aria, and I will never let anything happen to you."

**I just want to clear something up. Ella doesn't suspect anything about Ezra and Aria and doesn't think Ezra and Spencer are dating. It pretty much follows the storyline of the show in nearly every other aspect :]  
><strong>  
><strong>Anyway this <strong>_**sucks**_**. Please don't hate me for it. Hmm, so Ezra knows about A now... I have mixed feelings about this myself, what do you guys think? Oh, and if you ever have any ideas for this story, please feel free to tell me! Don't forget to review.  
>Follow me on Twitter, for occasional updates about this story! :] ezrialovee<br>Love you guys –Tori xx**


	6. Chapter 6

_When you hold my hand, I understand,  
>That it's meant to be.<br>'Cause baby, when you're with me,  
>It's like an angel came by and took me to heaven.<br>'Cause when I stare in your eyes, it couldn't be better.  
><em>**Never Let You Go- Justin Bieber**

Aria decided to head home just after six, considering it was Sunday and she had school the next day. Upon entering the house, she got a weird vibe, and she knew something was definitely wrong. "Mom? Dad?" She called through the house. No reply. "Mike?" She tried, but it seemed even her brother wasn't home. Aria furrowed her eyebrows- usually her family were home at this time on a Sunday night, and her parents car was parked in the driveway, but she blew it off, deciding that they had probably gone out for a walk. She headed up the stairs, but she would never have guessed what would happen as soon as she opened her bedroom door.

The three other members of her family were standing in her bedroom, all looking a mixture of shocked, hurt and betrayed, except for her younger brother Mike, who looked concerned.  
>"What's going on?" Aria asked, cautiously, scared of what the answer might be.<br>Her brother simply looked at her parents, her mother looked at her father and her father looked at Aria as if trying to decipher something about her.  
>"What's going on?" Aria repeated.<br>Bryon simply shook his head, as if unsure of what to say, and walked out of the room, not even looking at Aria.  
>"Mom?" Aria asked, worry blatantly obvious in her voice.<br>Ella simply followed Byron out of the room, but stopped for a short second to look at Aria before continuing out of the room.  
>Aria turned to Mike, and raised her eyebrows. "What the hell is going on?"<br>"They know." Mike shrugged.  
>Aria furrowed her eyebrows for a few seconds as she tried to piece together the puzzle in the mind. What on earth could her parents be so upset over? What did Mike mean by 'they know'? And then as it clicked her expression changed from confusion to realisation.<br>"Oh god." She said.  
>"Yeah." Mike nodded.<br>"How did…? Why aren't you…? What on earth…?" Aria couldn't even think straight.  
>"I already knew you were dating Mr Fitz." Mike stated. "Noel Kahn told me. I didn't believe him at first, but then I saw you both one day, and I saw the way you looked at each other."<br>"Why didn't you say anything?" Aria asked him.  
>"To you? Or to mom and dad?"<br>"To me." Aria confirmed.  
>"Because, I wasn't planning on telling anyone else. So I figured, it you didn't know that I knew, you wouldn't freak out or anything."<br>"Thank you." Aria said.  
>"It's no problem. You're my big sister, Aria, and I can see how happy he makes you." Mike smiled, "It actually makes me sick."<br>"How did they find out?"  
>"They got a letter or something." Mike shrugged, "I think it came with a picture."<br>Aria closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  
>"What did they say?"<br>"They were furious. Dad was ready to march right over to his apartment and murder him. Mom was, really upset about it. I managed to calm them both down, but, I don't know how long that'll last." Mike said.  
>Aria sighed.<br>"I think you should go talk to Mr Fitz though." Mike said.  
>"I should, shouldn't I?" Aria said, "And I will. I just gotta change first."<br>"I'll leave you be, then." Mike said, walking towards the door.  
>"Thank you, again." Aria said, walking forwards and hugging her brother.<br>"It's fine, Aria." Mike smiled before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

After showering and changing clothes, Aria lifted her phone and dialled Ezra's number.  
>"Hello?" His voice came from the other end, providing a slight bit of relief for Aria.<br>"Ezra..." Aria trailed off, "Ezra…" She still couldn't find the words.  
>"Aria, what's wrong?" He asked, his voice now filled with worry.<br>"My parents… they found out." Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence, and tears began streaming down her cheeks. "Ezra, what if they never let me see you again?"  
>"Aria," Ezra's voice was soothing to Aria's ears, "It's fine, okay? Everything's going to be okay. Why don't I come over and we can-"<br>Aria cut him off, "Ezra, no!" she exclaimed.  
>"Oh, okay." Ezra said, seeming a little hurt.<br>"No, it's not like that." Aria explained, "It's just, my parents seem really upset. My brother said he had to stop my dad from going to your apartment and beating the crap out of you."  
>"That sounds painful." Ezra said.<br>"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Aria asked.  
>"Of course." Ezra confirmed, "And Aria?"<br>"Yeah?"  
>"I love you, and nothing is going to change that."<br>"I love you too, Ezra." Aria replied before the both said goodbye and hung up the phone.  
>Aria looked at the clock, and seeing that it was after nine o'clock, she decided to turn in early, having had enough drama for the day and not wanting to wake up to find out what would happen the next.<p>

**Okay, this **_**sucks**_** I know. Please don't hate me though. So yeah, Aria's parents found out, uh-oh. Now, before you say anything like, her parents reaction was so unconvincing, yada, yada, I know they didn't act really mad or anything, but who says that's not to come, then again maybe it won't ;) So anyways, I'll probably have another chapter up later because I'm going to be up all night. My best friend and I are going at 2am to wait in line for One Direction tickets. Woooo. Okay, so I'll try to get a new chapter up soon. Let me know your thoughts? :]**

**-Tori xx**


	7. Chapter 7

_So __we __fight, __through __the __hurt,  
>And <em>_we __cry __and __cry __and __cry __and __cry.  
>And <em>_we __live, __and __we __learn,  
>And <em>_we __try __and __try __and __try __and __try.  
><em>**Down ****To ****Earth- ****Justin ****Bieber.  
><strong>

Aria awoke the next morning to hear the all-to-familiar voices of her shouting parents, travelling upwards from the downstairs kitchen. She thought this was over -the arguing and the fighting- everything had finally gone back to normal. But then she realised, it was her fault. She had fallen in love, and now her family was going to fall apart all over again- and it was all her fault.

Realising it was Monday, and it was already nearly seven o'clock, Aria reluctantly rolled out of her bed and got ready. Once she was prepared for going to school, she took one last look in the mirror and left her bedroom, almost bumping into her younger brother as she was entering the hallway outside her room.  
>"Sorry." She said, sincerely, looking into his eyes, meaning it for more than just bumping into him.<br>"It's not your fault." He said, giving her a weak smile, obviously picking up on what she meant.  
>Aria tried to give a weak smile, but wasn't very successful, before the two siblings walked downstairs and straight out the door, ignoring their arguing parents completely.<p>

Upon reaching school, Aria walked straight to her locker, knowing that her friends would be waiting for her there because she was slightly later than usual. As she suspected, Hanna, Spencer and Emily where waiting rather impatiently at her locker.  
>"Aria!" Spencer almost yelled upon seeing her friend walking towards her.<br>"Hey guys." Aria stated, unenthusiastically, opening her locker door and throwing her History textbook onto the shelf and pulling out her Physics textbook for her first lesson.  
>"Aria, is everything okay?" Emily asked cautiously.<br>"Yeah, we tried calling you. Last night and today, what happened?" Hanna added.  
>"Nothing, everything is peachy." Aria nearly shouted, slamming her locker shut, and storming off down the hallway towards the girls bathroom- she had finally cracked. Ezra knew about 'A', her parents knew about her once secret relationship and everything seemed to be falling apart. Her parents had confiscated her cell phone and her laptop the previous night, not even asking her- just walking into her room, taking them, and leaving again. Her parents hadn't said a word to her, and now they were back to arguing with each other and <em>she<em> had caused it. So far, her brother was the only person in her house that wasn't angry with her. He had known about her relationship, and Aria couldn't believe he had managed to keep that secret. And so, he was acting all supportive too her, but Aria knew that deep down in side, he hated Aria for what she had done. Not only was it wrong, but their family had finally started to re-build itself, Mike was finally opening up and everything was going back to normal- everyone was happy. She knew how much it tore Mike up the first time their mother left, what if one of her parents left again? Aria had so many thoughts and so many questions swimming around in her head, and she didn't know the answer to any of them. One thing she did know though was that she felt _miserable_, and she simply didn't know what to do anymore.

Aria looked up at the long mirror spread across the bathroom wall and wiped away the few tears she hadn't realised had fallen from her eyes. Just then, her three friends came stumbling into the bathroom and Aria quickly tried to leave but they formed a sort of 'human shield' stopping her from reaching the door.  
>"Aria." Spencer said sternly.<br>"Talk." Hanna finished for her.  
>"I can't, I'll be late for class." Aria simply stated, trying to dodge around the girls but Emily put her hand out and caught her arm.<br>"We can miss first period." She stated. Aria couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness in her saddened mood at how much her friends cared about her.  
>"Fine." Aria said, and started explaining the previous weekend's events.<p>

**Please ****don****'****t ****kill ****me ****for ****this ****awful ****and ****boring ****chapter!  
>So <strong>**I ****just ****want ****to ****say ****how ****sorry ****I ****am ****for ****not ****uploading. ****I ****had ****writer****'****s ****block ****for ****a ****while, ****and ****school ****is ****just ****crazy, ****I ****had ****two ****Maths ****tests ****last ****week ****and ****a ****Biology ****test ****today ****and ****I ****wrote ****this ****instead ****of ****studying ****for ****the ****History ****test ****I ****have ****tomorrow. ****I ****also ****have ****a ****French ****GCSE ****controlled ****assessment ****thing ****next ****week ****that ****I****really ****need ****to ****focus ****on **_**but **_**if ****I ****get ****my ****biology ****homework ****(that ****I ****was ****supposed ****to ****do ****for ****today ****:s) ****and ****my ****studying ****done, ****I ****will ****try ****to ****get ****another ****chapter ****up ****tonight, ****but ****we****'****ll ****have ****to ****see. ****So ****let ****me ****know ****your ****thoughts ****and ****review? ****Pleaseeee? ****Pretty ****please ****with ****a ****SHIRTLESS ****Ezra ****Fitz ****on ****top?****;)**

**Love you guys!  
>-Tori xx<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

I want it to get better I swear,  
>I'll work to make it better.<br>So please don't leave quite yet.  
>No please don't leave quite yet.<br>**Please ****Don****'****t ****Leave ****Quite ****Yet- ****Adam ****Agin**

By the time Aria had poured her heart out to her friends, the four were sitting in a huddle on the floor of the girls bathrooms, hugging each other tightly. It was moments like this that Aria treasured with her friends, and she didn't know how she ended up so lucky to land with such caring people in her life. The bell suddenly rang, jolting them from their group hug as neither girl expected it.  
>"Come on, let's get to our next class." Aria stood up.<br>"Are you sure, Aria?" Emily asked.  
>"I mean, we can always miss another period?" Hanna added.<br>"Thanks guys, but I'm fine, honestly." Aria smiled and reached down to pick up her bag and books that she had left on the ground and the three other girls followed suit, collecting their own possessions in their hands.  
>The four girls left the bathroom after fixing their make-up that had been ruined from the tears shed, and continued on with their school day as usual.<p>

Aria arrived home to hear her parents shouting once again. She let out a groan before trailing her way up the stairs and into her room. She decided to change into something more comfortable and settled on a pair of grey sweats and a light blue hoody. Seating herself at her desk, she attempted to do some homework but with her parents constant yelling as background noise, she found it awfully hard to concentrate. She quietly opened her bedroom door, not wanting to have to communicate with her parents at the present moment, and realising they had now re-located themselves in the kitchen, Aria made a dash for her parents bedroom. Once inside, she searched through her mother's drawers until finally she found what she was looking for- her cell phone. Tip-toeing her way back to her room, she opened her phone, noticing that Ezra had been trying to reach her, but of course, had not succeeded. She read the various text messages he had sent her but she had so many thoughts flying about in her brain, she couldn't muster up a reply, so instead but her lip, and dialled Hanna's number instead.  
>"Aria!" Hanna's voice came from the phone.<br>"Hey Han, is it okay if I come over to your place and we can study? My house is kind of crazy at the moment." Aria said.  
>"Of course, Emily is here, obviously, so we can call Spence and see if she wants to join us?" Hanna said, as more of a question than a statement.<br>"Sure, that'd be great." Aria confirmed and ended the call.

Not much more than ten minutes later, Aria and her three friends were scattered around Hanna and Emily's bedroom, each doing there own homework and eating Chinese take-out.  
>Hanna looked up from her Chemistry textbook and let out a long sigh. "I'm bored." She stated.<br>"Han, we've been doing homework for a whole five minutes." Spence laughed.  
>"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly a fan."<br>Aria sighed as she set her pencil on top of her English homework. "I can't concentrate either." She said.  
>"Well, homework's out then." Emily said, throwing her books to the side and laying back on her bed, "I've finished tomorrow's homework anyway."<br>"Me too." Spencer added.  
>Aria's phone beeped, and all three girls turned to her as she read the text she had received, in fear of who it may be.<br>"It's just Ezra." Aria said, setting her phone back on the ground beside her.  
>Hanna furrowed her eyebrows and Spencer gave her a weird look.<br>"What?" She asked.  
>"You aren't gonna reply?" Emily asked.<br>Aria looked down, not sure of what to say.  
>"Aria." Spencer said.<br>"It's just, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. As much as I would love to just say, 'I love you, everything will be okay.' I know that's a lie. My parents took my phone and my computer, I had to sneak into my mom's room to get this back," She said, pointing at her cell phone, "Once my parents start talking to me again, they'll probably ground me. So, what? Am I supposed to be in a relationship without communication, or do I break up with him and just let everyone else win?" Aria babbled, tears now forming in her eyelids. She didn't want to break up with Ezra, hell no, but she had this feeling that it was never going to work.  
>"Aria, I-" Hanna started, but she was cut off my Aria's cell phone once again.<br>"Shit, it's my mom." She said, before quickly answering the phone and putting it to her ear. "Hey mom.. no I'm at Hanna's… we're studying… yes, you can call her mom and make sure… I'll be home in an hour… yes, I understand… bye mom."  
>The other three girls in the room sat with their eyes focused on Aria.<br>"Well, I'm grounded." Aria said.  
>Spencer gave her a sympathetic smile and Emily reached over to hug her.<br>"Well, I think you need to talk to Ezra." Hanna shrugged. "You have an hour, right? I think you should go over there."  
>"Really?" Aria asked, "But I don't even know what to do, what to say."<br>"It'll come naturally. Whatever you want to do the most, is what you will do in the moment." Emily said.  
>"Okay." Aria nodded, standing up and collecting her belongings. "I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow." And with that, she was out the door and in her car within no time.<p>

Aria debated with herself about what to do, the entire fifteen minute journey to Ezra's apartment, and now, as she stood outside the familiar brown door, she still had no idea.  
>"Aria." Ezra said, when he opened the door, his face a mixture of happiness, relief and shock.<br>"Hey." Aria said, pulling a smile.  
>"Come in." Ezra said motioning for her to come inside the apartment.<br>Once she had entered, Ezra shut the door behind her, and placed a kiss to her forehead. "Do you want anything? Some water, or f-" he started but Aria cut him off.  
>"I think we need to take a break."<p>

**Dun, dun, dun!  
>So this chapter sort of sucks, I'm not really happy with it, but I really want to upload something. (I wrote this instead of trying to memorise my French GCSE :]) So anyways, I will try and update at the weekend, if not, before it. Leave a review with your thoughts?<strong>

**Love you guys!**

**-Tori, xx.**


	9. Author's note

**Author's note.**

Guys, you do not know how sorry I am about not updating. I'm not going to throw a bunch of excuses around but I will say that I don't have a lot of time to write, and I haven't been feeling great the past few days. Also, any time I do try to write, I can't. I have writer's block and it sucks. I'm just not sure what to write, and anything I do write, I deem as not good enough. But I promise, I _will not _ abadon this story, I love writing it. So stay tuned, and I hope to have some up soon.  
>Also, if you have any ideas, feel free to PM me and I'll see if I can work them into the story :D<p>

Love you guys!

-Tori xx


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